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What’s cooking?
The best chef in the world, by common consent, is Catalan.
Ferran Adrià
, a self-taught
chef from Barcelona, presides over
El Bulli
(
W
www.elbulli.com), his triple-Michelin-
starred restaurant just outside the town of Roses on the Costa Brava. Dinner here costs
€200 a head, but it’s barely worth worrying about the price because the tables are
booked solid until the next millennium. It’s strange, because what Adrià does is less
like cooking and more like chemistry, spending the winter months each year when the
restaurant is closed refining his techniques in his Barcelona “laboratory”. He is the man
responsible for breaking down dishes into their constituent ingredients and then
playing with them – turning food into foam, distilling vegetable essence into gelatin
blocks, injecting a seafood reduction into Rice Krispies, or adding herbs, cheese or
even perfume to ice cream. You’re either going to think this is fantastic or plain ridicu-
lous but Adrià has spawned a generation of regional Spanish chefs – Jordi Vilà, Paco
Guzmán, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Carles Abellan, Ramon Freixa, Xavier Pellicer, Sergi Arola
– who are challenging contemporary tastes in an equally inventive fashion. Many are
cooking right now in Barcelona, so go and see what the fuss is all about.
years and, while very elegant, it’s not
exclusive – you should book ahead, though,
as the queues can be horrendous. The
renowned rice dishes are fairly reasonably
priced (€13–18), but for a full meal you’re
looking at more than €40 a head. Daily
1pm–1am.
Barceloneta
For locations, see map, p.91.
Inexpensive
Can Maño
c/Baluard 12
T
933 193 082;
M
Barceloneta.
There’s rarely a tourist in
sight in this old-fashioned locals’ diner, jam-
packed with formica tables. Fried or grilled
fish is the thing here, such as sardines, mullet
or calamari, supplemented by a few daily
seafood specials and basic meat dishes.
Expect rough house wine and absolutely no
frills, but it’s an authentic experience, which
is likely to cost you less than €12 a head.
No credit cards. Mon–Fri 8am–5.30pm &
8–11pm, Sat noon–5pm; closed Aug.
Moderate
Can Manel
Pg. Joan de Borbó 60
T
932
215 013;
M
Barceloneta.
An institution
since 1870, which fills very quickly, inside
and out, because the food is both good and
reasonably priced. If you want lunch outside
on the shaded terrace, get here by 1.30pm.
Paella,
fideuà
and
arròs a banda
are staples
– from around €13 per person – while the
catch of the day, usually simply grilled,
ranges from cuttlefish to sole, bream or
hake (up to €22). A weekday lunchtime
menú
keeps the cost down, but there’s
usually not much fish or seafood on this.
Daily 1–4pm & 8pm–midnight.
Can Ros
c/Almirall Aixada 7
T
932 215 049;
M
Barceloneta.
This has long been one of the
best places to sample paella,
arròs negre
or
a
fideuà
, all of which cost around €12 – as
almost everywhere, rice servings are for a
minimum of two people. The only real
drawback is that there’s no outside seating,
and the tables are packed in close together,
upstairs and down, but it’s a comfortable,
no-hurry kind of place. Daily except Wed
1–5pm & 8pm–midnight.
Expensive
Antiga Casa Solé
c/Sant Carles 4
T
932 215
012,
W
www.restaurantcansole.com;
M
Barceloneta.
Founded in 1903, it was here
– it’s claimed – that
sarsuela
(Catalan fish
stew) was invented. Since then, the quiet,
formal
Casa Solé
has been dishing up
market-fresh fish and seafood, either in
stews or casseroles or simply grilled,
sautéed or mixed with rice – baked squid
and grilled cod are both house specialities.
Count on a good €40 a head. Tues–Sat
1.30–4pm & 8.30–11pm, Sun 1.30–4pm;
closed two weeks in Aug.
Can Majo
c/Almirall Aixada 23
T
932 215
818;
M
Barceloneta.
You can almost sit
on the beach at this quality seafood restau-
rant – the summer
terrassa
is ringed by a
blue picket fence, and the whole world
saunters by as you tuck into reliably good
rice,
fideuà
, fish stew or grilled fish. The
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